Opened in 2006, the 137,000-square-foot (12,700 m2) facility, which is owned by Arlington County and leased to the Capitals, houses two full-NHL-sized ice rinks with seating for 1,200, a training center, a proshop, and offices for staff of both the Capitals team and the
WNBA's
Washington Mystics team.

The Capitals spend about 300 hours annually practicing at the arena, which has 12,000 hours of ice time available annually. The Iceplex also serves as the home ice for the club teams of
Georgetown University and
George Washington University. The Iceplex also runs an adult league for amateur hockey players. It is regularly available for recreational use, and hosts "Learn to Skate" camps and lessons throughout the year.[1][2]

The IcePlex is also home to the NOVA Cool Cats special hockey team, which practices and has home games at the IcePlex, and the DC Sled Sharks, a
sledge hockey team for physically disabled youths 18 and under, which plays in the Delaware Valley Sled Hockey League.[3][4]

History

The Capitals had long practiced at a rink in
Piney Orchard, Maryland, near the
Capital Centre, even after the team moved to downtown Washington, D.C. in 1997. Arlington County, Virginia had purchased the parking garage at the Parkington Shopping Center in 1984 as part of an economic development plan in the Ballston area. The facility was subsequently renamed the Ballston Public Parking Garage, and the original 1950’s structure was renovated and expanded to provide 2,800 parking spaces on seven floors. This expansion was financed with $22.3 million in variable rate revenue bond.
Ted Leonsis, who bought the Capitals in 1999, began looking to build a new practice facility and in 2004, the team secured agreements with Arlington County to build a new rink on top of the Ballston Public Parking Garage.

The building was designed by William R. Drury of the
Reston, Virginia based firm,
Architecture, Incorporated, and completed in November 2006 at a cost of $42.8 million.[1] It is built to
LEED standards, though was not registered with the
Green Building Council to receive a certification. It is not fully
handicapped accessible.[6] The facility totals 137,000 square-feet and includes two indoor NHL-sized ice rinks, office space, 8 player locker rooms, a full-service ProShop, a Capitals Team Store, a snack bar, and spaces for special events. In addition, it includes a 20,000 square foot training center for the Capitals, containing an athletic-training and medical facilities, a weight room and fitness room, a locker room and lounge area, a high-tech theatre-style classroom and a video room.[7] An additional level, above the training facility, houses office space for the entire front-office staff of the Capitals and the WNBA’s Washington Mystics.

Originally named Ballston Ice Arena, it was renamed Kettler Capitals Iceplex by
Washington, D.C. area real estate developer
Robert C. Kettler.[8] His firm, KSI Services, bought the naming rights to the arena on November 1, 2006, for seven years at $400,000 per year. The arena opened with its first practice 10 days later.[9] In 2010, the Arlington County Board recognized the facility in the inaugural DESIGNArlington awards.[10] In July 2018,
MedStar Health bought the naming rights in a 10-year agreement together with the other
Monumental Sports & Entertainment practice facilities.[11]

^"HARBORCENTER-GroundUp.pdf"(PDF). HarborCenter.com. October 2014. p. 4. Retrieved November 7, 2014. Benson led a group of Sabres officials to Washington, DC to view the Capitals practice facility, which is built on top of a parking garage, and form their idea.